A Bittersweet Reunion
by amazingbliss24
Summary: The gang is back in the Fire Nation to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the defeat of Fire Lord Ozai. But when two old enemies resurface, Fire Lord Zuko must lead a fight against his father and sister, who seek to destroy him. Zutara, Yokka, Taang
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: The Reunion**

"Whoa boy!" Aang shouted to an excited Appa. Toph laughed in the background as Appa twisted and turned through the air. Toph and Aang were soaring through the air above the Fire Kingdom on their beloved bison's back.

The couple was going to visit their old friends at the Fire Nation Palace for a 5th anniversary celebration of the defeat of Ozai. Fire Lord Zuko his wife, Katara, both very good friends of Aang and Toph, were hosting the festivities. Also in attendance would be Katara's brother Sokka, his fiancé Yue, Zuko's ex- girlfriend Mai, and her new beau Haru.

Toph groaned as she upchucked her lunch off the side of Appa's saddle. Most people would think that this was because of the bison's rapid movements, but Aang knew better. His girlfriend was pregnant. 8 months pregnant, to be exact. Aang was excited to become a father, but a little apprehensive. He was 17 and Toph was 16, too young to be married, much less have a baby!

"You okay back there?" Aang called to his girlfriend, who was now lying down, looking absolutely miserable.

"Oh, I'm fabulous!" she said sarcastically. Then she suddenly began to cry. "This is all your fault! You did this to me!"

Aang and rolled his eyes. He had been dealing with these mood swings for three months. Nothing new. But they were still annoying.

Appa slowed to a stop and landed right in front of the Fire Palace. Aang hopped off and began to walk up to the door. He heard a cough behind him. Toph was standing there expectantly, holding her hand out.

"Aren't you going to help me down?" she asked with an attitude.

He sighed. This was going to be a long week.

"Ugh. Ugggghhhhh. UUUUGGGGGGHHHHH!!!!" Yue groaned from the back of the carriage.

"WHAT?!?!?! What could you possibly want?!" Sokka screamed at her from the front.

"I want you to love me!"

"Sweetheart, I do love you! But right now you need to be quiet so I can FOCUS ON DRIVING!!!"

Sokka heaved a huge breath. Ever since Yue had gotten pregnant 8 months ago, she had been practically unbearable. Every word that came out of her mouth was sarcastic, complaining, or berating. He was so glad this baby only had one more month to go, because he didn't know how much longer he could last.

He wasn't even planning on bringing Yue to the celebration, but the invitation from Zuko had specifically requested the presence of both of them. So Sokka was stuck with the complaining pregnant woman as his date.

In fact, he wasn't even going to go to this thing if Katara wasn't going to be there. He hadn't seen his sister since three months after Fire Lord Ozai was defeated, when they all had gone their separate ways. He and Yue had gone back to the Southern Water Tribe to help rebuild. Sokka hadn't heard from anyone else, save for the invitation, for five years. He figured that Aang and Katara had gone on a couple adventures together and just never had time to write to him.

Their carriage pulled up to the Fire Nation Palace, a grand mansion detailed with intricate Fire Nation artwork. Sokka helped Yue out of the carriage and up to the front door. He knocked three times. Several seconds later, a woman opened it.

She was medium height with tan skin. Her long black hair was pin straight and parted to the side. Heavy black eyeliner and bright red lipstick adorned her face. She was dressed in a red and gold royal Fire Nation gown that did not hide her pregnant belly very well.

It was her eyes that gave her away. They were a deep blue, the color of the ocean. Both Yue and Sokka recognized her immediately.

"KATARA?!?!?!"

Katara rushed into her brother's arms.

"Sokka!! I've missed you so much!" she squealed. He just stared at her in shock.

After a few seconds of stunned silence, he spoke. "What happened to you? I can barely recognize you! And why are you wearing Fire Nation clothes? And why are you PREGNANT?" he asked, pointing to her baby bump.

Katara laughed. "Well I am Fire Queen. I'm supposed to wear Fire Nation clothes, dummy!" She scratched his head playfully.

"You- you-you-you… FIRE QUEEN?" he practically screamed.

Katara looked confused, but soon after realization swept over her face. "Sokka, I married Zuko. We have two kids, another on the way. I'm Fire Queen- how could you not know that?"

"Because you never wrote to me! I haven't heard from you in five years! Wait, what happened to Aang?"

"We broke up. I realized he was like a brother to me, and that's all he will ever be. He's with Toph now," Katara explained.

Sokka and Yue gaped at her. "He's with TOPH?!" they asked unanimously.

"Yup. And look! Here they are now!" All three of them whirled around to see the pair walking towards them. Toph ran up to hug Katara and Yue. It was more of a pat, because all three were pregnant and couldn't get their arms around each other. Aang was next to hug Katara, although that was awkward, considering the circumstances.

As soon as the round of greetings was over, Katara leaned her head into the doorway. "Zuko! They're here!" she called. Several seconds later, the Fire Lord himself emerged from his grand palace. Zuko was balancing a young girl on his right arm, while a little boy stood at his feet, hiding behind him timidly.

Zuko smiled. "It's great to see all of you!" he exclaimed.

Toph pointed at the two children. "Who are these little guys?"

"I'd like to introduce you to our children. This is Toko," she motioned to the little boy, who waved shyly. "He's five years old. And this is Taji." She picked up the girl in her arms and cradled her. "She was born last year. Toko and Taji, these are friends of Daddy and I. This is your uncle Sokka and aunt Yue. And this is Aang and Toph."

Toko waved again, coming out from behind his father. Taji just stared at everyone uncaringly. Toko looked like his mother. He had tan skin, blue eyes, and brown hair. Taji, however, was identical to her father. Light skin, gold eyes, and black hair.

After they were finished admiring the beautiful children, Sokka asked, "So, can they bend?"

Zuko grinned. He knelt down next to Toko and whispered something into his ear. They little boy nodded and raised both his arms. Water from a nearby fountain rose up and hovered over Sokka's head, before splashing down on top of his, rendering him soaked. Everyone giggled, except for Sokka.

"Well I guess that answers that question," he said good-naturedly.

Suddenly a pale, wiry woman appeared at the door. Katara put Taji in the woman's arms and ushered Toko toward her, saying, "Thank you Hara. Make sure they get enough sleep before dinner." The woman nodded and disappeared behind the door, taking the young prince and princess with her.

"Come. We have much to talk about," Zuko said, suddenly taking on a serious expression.

"Why? What's wrong?" Aang inquired.

Katara spoke up. "We called you all here for a celebration. But that is only half the reason. We need your help. Ozai and Azula have escaped."

**Hope you liked it! If you didn't pick up on this yet, Yue never turned into the moon. I kept her alive because I like the pairing so much! So I guess Sokka just never met Suki.**

**Anyways, please review! It means so much to me! When I get five reviews, I will continue the story! So if you liked it, let me know! **


	2. Chapter 2

**Okay, so I lied. I didn't get ANY reviews, but I continued the story anyways because I like it. I REALLY would appreciate some feedback, though! Anyways, you can expect the next three chapters to be up sometime this week. Enjoy!**

The cracking of the fire was the only sound heard as everyone tried to digest what Zuko and Katara had just told them. They were now sitting on large pillows by the fireplace in Zuko's parlor room. Finally Aang spoke up.

"So, they just disappeared? Just like that?" he asked skeptically. The avatar was sure that all the protections he had put on their cells were unbreakable.

"Well, we have a few clues as to where they went," Katara paused to make sure everyone was listening.

"Go on, sugar queen," Toph urged her.

"There were two men guarding the east entrance to the prison. Both were found dead and after the escape. They were burnt to a crisp by lighting and their clothes were gone, meaning that Azula and Ozai escaped out of the East entrance wearing Fire Nation army uniforms. But the question is, why would they leave that way when the West entrance was closer to their cells and unguarded? What is east of the prison that would cause them to risk getting captured?"

"The Royal Port?" Sokka offered.

"Right," Zuko said. "We asked the dock master if anyone unusual had left port that day, and he said that two soldiers took a small fisher's boat out to sea. Apparently they said that they would bring it back in two hours, but they never returned. Now everyone think. What is in the east that you can only get to by boat?"

Everyone took a few seconds to think about the answer to that question. Yue's eyes fluttered open in surprise.

"The Earth Kingdom. Ba Sing Se!" she cried in realization.

Zuko nodded solemnly. "Ba Sing Se."

Several hours later, Toph and Yue had gone to bed. Aang was busy meditating on the roof, trying to figure out a solution to the Ozai and Azula problem. That left Zuko, Sokka, and Katara to catch up over a hot cup of tea.

"So, you got Yue pregnant? That's pretty irresponsible, Sokka," Katara stated disapprovingly.

Sokka gaped at her. "Me? Irresponsible? What about you? Don't try to tell me that you and Zuko got married before your first kid was born!"

Zuko squirmed in his seat and Katara fiddled with her hair uncomfortably.

"Well, um, we actually got married after Taji was born…" Zuko said quietly. Sokka's mouth dropped even farther on the floor.

"Excuse me? Are you trying to tell me that my sister – little miss goody-two shoes who can do no wrong – had **two**children out of wedlock before she married her baby daddy?"

"No! Sokka, it wasn't like that! You see, when I gave birth to Toko, Zuko's people were excited to have an heir to the throne. But when they found out that Toko is a waterbender, they turned against me. No one wanted to have a waterbender on the Fire Nation throne. So they forbid me from marrying Zuko and threatened to revolt if I could not provide a suitable heir- a firebender. When I had Taji, they finally relented and let Zuko and I marry." Katara told the story with tears welling up at her eyes. Zuko leaned over to kiss her comfortingly.

Meanwhile, Sokka looked terribly guilty for making her recount what was obviously a painful memory. "Oh sis, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. But I'm curious. What made the people stop giving you a hard time?"

Zuko smiled. "They fell in love with Taji. As soon as they laid eyes on her, they realized that our children were worthy of sitting on the throne. Even still, we're hoping that this little guy will be a firebender and make daddy proud," he said while rubbing his wife's stomach gently.

Sokka grinned. "I think it's obvious what my kid is gonna be… a fierce warrior, just like dad!"

Katara let out a small giggle. "You don't know that! Yue is a waterbender, after all."

"Well then I guess we'll just have to wait and see," he replied confidently. Katara yawned.

"You better get to bed," Zuko said softly. He kissed her goodnight, and she got up, waving goodbye to Sokka as she walked to her chambers. Zuko turned to Sokka. "You too, Sokka. It's been a long day. I'm going to go check on Aang and see if he's talked to the Spirits about our problem."

Zuko trekked outside to see Aang. The boy was meditating on the roof. His eyes and arrow were glowing bright blue, meaning that he had crossed into the spirit world. Zuko climbed up and knelt next to him.

"Aang? Aang!" Zuko shook him. The boy was silent for a moment, but then he startled Zuko by speaking in a low, monotonous voice.

"There is a prophecy which will save the world from utter destruction. A fallen king and his deranged daughter will start a rebellion against the Fire Nation that will sweep the world. The only ones that can stop them are the Great Four."

Zuko was confused. "The Great Four? Who are they? Aang, who are they?"

"One will be born to the most powerful ruler. Another will be born to the fiercest warrior. Two more will be born to the most skilled bender. These four spirits will combine to defeat the evil, but there will be a price to pay. For there to be balance in the world, the truest of hearts must die. Fire Lord Zuko, your path has been intertwined with those you trust most for a reason. Do not stray from the path that the Spirits have chosen for you. It is up to you to guide the Great Four and lead the world into a time of peace." Aang's arrow faded and he collapsed, leaving Zuko confused and terrified.


End file.
